Exhibitions, Gonzales Studio

Eva Kor: From Auschwitz to Indiana

Date

2022–2025

Institution

Indiana Historical Society · Indianapolis, IN

Award

★ Melvin Simon Tikkun Olam Award, Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis, 2022

This exhibit told the remarkable story of Eva Mozes Kor, a Romanian-born Jewish child who survived Auschwitz and the medical experiments of Dr. Josef Mengele, and went on to build a life in Indiana as one of the world's most prominent Holocaust educators and advocates. Through never-before-seen artifacts, a virtual reality experience of Auschwitz narrated in Kor's own voice, developed by WFYI, and an interactive holographic display on loan from the USC Shoah Foundation that allowed visitors to converse with her, the exhibit explored how one survivor's journey from unimaginable trauma to a lifelong mission of forgiveness and empowerment left a lasting mark on the world.

Role

Concept development Curation Object loan management Partner technology integration Interactive development Actor interpreter training

You Are There 1927: Gennett Studio

Date

2020–2022

Institution

Indiana Historical Society · Indianapolis, IN

Award

★ Best of Indy History Exhibit, Indianapolis Monthly, 2020

This exhibit transported visitors inside a recreation of the legendary Gennett Recording Studio in Richmond, Indiana, exploring its outsized role in shaping American music. Though the studio operated for less than two decades in the 1920s and early 1930s, it captured some of the earliest recordings of jazz, blues, country, and gospel artists, including Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Hoagy Carmichael, and Bix Beiderbecke, whose influence rippled through generations of musicians and continues to be felt in popular music today. The exhibit blended iconic artifacts and digital interactives with the historic recreation and first person interpretation.

Role

Concept development Curation Object loan management Historical environment design Interactive development Actor interpreter research and training

You Are There 1915: Madam C.J. Walker, Empowering Women

Date

2019–2021

Institution

Indiana Historical Society · Indianapolis, IN

Madam C.J. Walker built a hair care and cosmetics empire for Black women in the early 1900s, becoming one of the first American women to become a self-made millionaire and using her wealth to fund philanthropy and civil rights causes. The centerpiece of this experience was a fully recreated version of Walker's Indianapolis office, populated by actor interpreters drawing on character profiles built from primary historical research. The interpretive framework deliberately recentered Walker's identity, prioritizing her work as a philanthropist, civic organizer, and activist. Every prop, costume, and character detail came from the archive.

Role

Concept development Curation Artifact research & loans Interactive concept development Historical environment design Character development Actor interpreter research and training

Hoosier Latinos & Asian American Voices

Date

2018–2022

Institution

Indiana Historical Society · Indianapolis, IN

What started as a Lilly Endowment-funded initiative to address a gap in IHS's collections grew into two full exhibits, two traveling exhibits, two online exhibits, two books, and a classroom curriculum used across Indiana. Hoosier Latinos traced the experience of Latino communities in the state, covering immigration, the institutions they built, and their contributions to Indiana life; Asian American Voices in Indiana covered the same ground for Asian Hoosier communities. Built entirely from original oral history fieldwork done by Nicole Martinez LeGrand, conversations with community members whose stories had never been part of the official record. Exhibitions traveled statewide sharing important undertold history.

Role

Historical research and curation Exhibit concept & development Traveling adaptation Book development & writing

View Be Heard online exhibits

The Courageous and Faithful: The Cavalry at Jefferson Barracks

The Courageous and Faithful: The Cavalry at Jefferson Barracks

Date

March 2015–Dec 2016

Institution

Jefferson Barracks Historic Site · St. Louis County Parks

Award

★ AASLH Leadership in History Award of Merit, 2016

This exhibit explored Jefferson Barracks' distinguished role as the birthplace of the American Cavalry, tracing the history of U.S. mounted forces from their origins as the Regiment of United States Dragoons in 1833 through their evolution into one of the most consequential military forces in American history. It highlighted how soldiers recruited and trained at the post helped open the western frontier, and told the stories of the Buffalo Soldiers, among the earliest African American enlisted men in the U.S. military. The exhibit featured never-before-displayed artifacts alongside hands-on activities and digital experiences that brought the cavalry's history to life for visitors.

Role

Historical research Exhibition design & curation Interactive concept & content development Fabrication & installation

View exhibition video

The Civil War in Missouri

Date

Nov 2011–Jun 2013

Institution

Missouri History Museum · St. Louis, MO

Award

★ Silver ADDY Award, Interactive Multimedia, 2012

A major exhibition for the Civil War sesquicentennial, examining Missouri's uniquely divided experience as a border state that stayed in the Union while remaining home to widespread Confederate sympathy, guerrilla warfare, and rival state governments. Researched and wrote content for exhibit labels and digital interactives, developed content for the companion website civilwarmo.org, and curated a traveling version deployed to sites across Missouri.

Role

Research & writing Digital interactive content Companion website development Traveling exhibit adaptation